a car and some shorts

This season, we’re taking cues from Swedish architect and designer Greta Magnusson Grossman. After moving to Los Angeles in 1940, Grossman brought a Scandinavian modern aesthetic to her studio on Rodeo Drive. Her artful blend of old and new attracted Hollywood icons like Greta Garbo and Ingrid Bergman whom she designed furniture, lighting, and interiors for and ultimately befriended. One of the central pioneers in California’s modernist movement — and the only licensed female architect of the era — Grossman was also regularly featured alongside visionaries including Charles Eames, Richard Neutra, and Craig Ellwood. 

Accolades aside, Grossman’s design approach is perhaps what we admire most about
the innovator: Practical, but never boring. Playful, but never frivolous. Grossman famously stated that all she needed for West Coast living was “a car and some shorts,” and this discerning sensibility was present in the fourteen homes she designed from 1949 to 1959 as well as signature pieces like the Cobra Lamp, 62 Series Desk, and Modern Line Sofa. 

The same can be said for our Spring collection, which in keeping with Grossman’s own inspirations, was photographed at a mid-century modern Case Study home in Beverly Hills. With a spring-forward palette — and reimagined heritage icons like worn-in tees, sweaters in modern cuts, and expertly tailored trousers — each piece in the collection mirrors the intentionality of Grossman's work by prizing an equal balance of utility and beauty. 

In this way, Grossman’s ethos embodies the standards for everything we make: functional, wearable, and timeless. Her story reminds us that when it comes to getting dressed, it’s all about essentials… and when we get down to it, it really can be as simple as buying a car and some shorts.